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Solidarity with the People of Southern Sudan January 5th, 2011
Prayer campaign promotes peace before Southern Sudan independence vote; photo by Paul Jeffrey, CNS
On 9 January 2011, the people of Southern Sudan will vote in a crucial referendum whether they will unify with or secede from Northern Sudan. The vote will likely give a birth to a new country; however what happens in the wake of the referendum is less certain. The people of Southern Sudan have endured almost five decades of war and displacement. Southern Sudan is the least-developed part of the country, but contains important natural resource wealth, particularly oil.
The Catholic Task Force on Africa, of which the Oblate JPIC Office is a member, is closely monitoring the situation. CTA has in the past hosted briefings with Catholic Bishops from Sudan and religious workers from different congregations working in the southern Sudan through Solidarity with Southern Sudan which is sponsored by the members of the Union of Major Superiors (USG) and International Conference of Superior Generals (UISG) in Rome. The Missionary Oblates is a member of these international religious groups and is supportive of the missionary work done by the Solidarity with Southern Sudan initiative.
The U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace in conjunction with Catholic Relief Service issued a statement on 28 December 2010, “Peace in Sudan: Your Help Needed as Vote Nears” which encourages U.S. Catholics to pray and advocate for their brothers and sisters in Sudan. The Bishops are urging schools, schools, religious communities to offer special prayers for people in Sudan, especially on January 9th and in the weeks following the referendum vote.
More information and action suggestions can be found at Catholic Relief Services – Peace in Sudan
Missionary Oblates responding to the needs of the homeless in Chula Vista December 31st, 2010
Fr Ricardo Lopez OMI shares his experience of working with the homeless and migrants in Chula Vista, California in this recent video.
2011 World Day of Peace December 20th, 2010
“Religious freedom, the path to peace” is the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the 2011 World Day of Peace. The World Day of Peace has been celebrated since 1968 on the first day of every year.
“Religious freedom expresses what is unique about the human person, for it allows us to direct our personal and social life to God, in whose light the identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood. To deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom is to foster a reductive vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account of the true nature of the human person; it is to stifle the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family.”
Read the Pope’s Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace.
Dream Act Fails to Pass December 18th, 2010
The Dream Act – a measure which would have granted legal recognition to hundreds of thousands of young people who have grown up in the U.S., but who lack citizenship – died in the Senate in a procedural vote on Saturday. The immigration bill, backed by broad interfaith support, obtained 55 votes in favor with 41 against, a tally nevertheless short of the 60 votes needed to bring it to the floor for debate. Five Democrats broke ranks to vote against the bill, while only three Republicans voted for it. The defeat in the Senate came after the House of Representatives passed the bill last week.
The defeat was a bitter pill for immigration advocates as well as for the Obama Administration which had pressed for the bill’s passage. Adherents of the measure vowed to continue working for its passage. The DREAM Act would allow young people to become legal U.S. residents after spending two years in college or the military.
Fr. Seamus Finn Speaks on Need for Greater Corporate Transparency at Yale Conference December 14th, 2010
- Theodore Dwight Woolsey and Dwight Hall, Yale University
On December 7th and 8th The Global Financial Integrity Project convened a conference entitled “Socially Responsible Investing and Corporate Financial Reporting: The Need for Transparency” at Yale University. Fr. Seamus Finn from the OMI JPIC office participated and presented a paper on the work of the office in promoting greater transparency by corporations on tax and tariff payments made in different jurisdictions. His paper also discussed the efforts of faith communities to ensure that the US Congress adopts greater transparency standards for the financial industry.
